Robert F. Smith
Entrepreneur and philanthropist Robert F. Smith is the founding director and President of Fund II Foundation. Under his leadership, Fund II Foundation champions initiatives that preserve cultural heritage and expand opportunities in education, the arts and beyond.
Inspiring Change Through Fund II Foundation
Shaped by his life experiences, Smith has focused his philanthropy on uplifting communities that often lack access to resources and opportunities. As Smith advanced through his career, he came to recognize the pivotal role that internships and mentors played in creating opportunities for him. In partnership with Fund II Foundation, he aims to create similar pathways of opportunity for others.
“The whole inspiration really comes from an ideological position around how do you liberate the human spirit,” Smith said of his philanthropic philosophy. “I don’t think there’s anything more beautiful than the liberated human spirit.”
In 2016, the Fund II Foundation gifted $20 million to Cornell University, Smith’s alma mater. That same year, Smith donated $30 million to the school. The generous contributions helped to fund efforts to recruit and support students in STEM fields through scholarships and graduate fellowships. Six years later, Smith contributed another $15 million to Cornell University’s College of Engineering to establish three funds.
In 2019, the Fund II Foundation created internXL, under Smith’s leadership. The platform’s primary purpose is to enhance access to STEM fields by connecting top businesses with highly qualified internship candidates.
Educational Initiatives
Since internXL was established, SFI has expanded to serve dozens of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), other Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) and Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs). Internships for SFI are provided by Fund II Foundation’s flagship internXL program.
Professional Highlights
Smith is the Founder, Chairman and CEO of Vista Equity Partners (Vista), a global technology investment firm that invests in enterprise software (B2B SaaS) through private equity and private credit. Additionally, Vista’s Private Wealth Solutions business provides eligible investors with the opportunity to invest in enterprise software.
Since the company’s founding in 2000, Smith has directed the firm’s investment strategy, decisions, governance and investor relations. In 2023, Vista was recognized as the Global Technology Private Equity Firm of the Year by Private Equity International.
Smith began as an engineer, which is a dream he realized during his internship at Bell Labs. He started this internship opportunity while he was still in high school and continued to intern for the lab during his summers home from Cornell University. In 1985, he graduated with a B.S. in chemical engineering from Cornell University.
Following his undergraduate studies, he worked as an engineer for various companies, including Kraft General Foods, where he earned four patents. In 1994, Smith earned his MBA from Columbia Business School. Following graduate school, he worked in technology investment banking for Goldman Sachs. In his time at the company, Smith oversaw mergers and acquisitions at tech giants like Apple, Yahoo! and Texas Instruments. He worked for Goldman Sachs until 2000, when he left to found Vista.
Smith’s Awards, Honors and Memberships
Throughout the years, Smith’s industry insights, accomplishments and philanthropy have been widely recognized and celebrated. In recognition of Smith’s innovative approach to investing in software businesses and his leadership in the asset management industry, Forbes listed Smith as one of the 100 Greatest Living Business Minds in 2017. In 2019, he received the President’s Award from the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) and the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy. Smith also received theGrio’s Philanthropy Icon Award and the National Arts Award from Americans for the Arts in 2022. He was an honoree of the George H.W. Bush Points of Light Awards and received an HBCU Impact Award in 2023. Two years later, Smith was named to TIME100’s “Most Influential People in Philanthropy” list.
Additionally, Smith was the first Black American to sign the Giving Pledge, a commitment to contribute the majority of his wealth to philanthropic causes during his lifetime. He also serves as Chairman of the Carnegie Hall Board of Trustees. Smith is also a member of the Columbia Business School Board of Overseers and a member of the Cornell Engineering College Council.
Most notably, Smith co-leads Southern Communities Initiative (SCI). SCI is a catalytic consortium to accelerate wealth creation and economic growth in six Southern communities through locally led, measured and sustained initiatives.
Learn more about Smith by connecting with him on LinkedIn, Facebook, X, YouTube and Instagram.
